Three throw hats into the ring for offices

The Pettis County Courthouse played host to three separate candidate announcements on Wednesday, with filing for county and state offices still weeks away.

The flurry of activity began with an announcement by former La Monte Mayor Bill Hering signaling his intention to seek the Republican nomination for Pettis County treasurer.

That was followed with a potential Democratic challenge to incumbent Republican state Rep. Stanley Cox in the newly created 52nd District, which includes Sedalia and Knob Noster, from Phyllis Domann, of Sedalia.

The race for Pettis County western commissioner also saw a new entrant on Wednesday with an announcement by Randy “Griff” Griffis, of Dresden.

Hering told a crowd of supporters Wednesday morning that his years of financial management in the Air Force, coupled with his six years as mayor, have given him the kind of fiscal oversight experience necessary for the job.

“I know my knowledge and appreciation for budgets will make me a valuable asset to the citizens of Pettis County,” he said.  

Hering is the first Republican to announce for the office, which will be open after the decision by incumbent Treasurer Jane Kelley, a Democrat, to retire. Sheryl Von Holten, now an employee in the Pettis County assessor’s office, also has announced her intention to seek the office.

Experience also was a selling point for Domann, who ran unsuccessfully for western commissioner in 2008.

She told supporters Wednesday afternoon that she can “capably serve the residents of the new 52nd District due to my breadth of professional and volunteer experience and education.”

With the state’s House of Representative map now being reviewed by the courts, Domann said she was interested in the 52nd because of her ties to both Knob Noster and Sedalia, though “these districts could still change depending on what the courts decide.”

A former public school teacher who now teaches business classes for Central Methodist University at State Fair Community College, Domann called herself a “fiscal conservative” who would focus on creating jobs and education funding if elected.

The entry of Griffis, a longtime county employee who now is purchasing agent for the Road and Bridge Department, into the western commissioner race all but guarantees a Republican primary contest in August.

Mike Johnson, a 20-year Green Ridge business owner who has been on the city’s aldermanic board for five years, told of his intention to seek the office in December.

Griffis touted his “boots on the ground” experience working with Road and Bridge as a chief qualification for the office.

“We must ensure that our farmers can get their equipment to the fields and their products to market, that our children can get to school and our fellow workers can get to work safely,” Griffis said Wednesday afternoon at the courthouse.

Filing for county and state offices opens Feb. 28 and closes March 27. The primary is slated for Aug. 7, and winners from that contest will go on to face off in the Nov. 6 general election.